Device for testing the recuperative power in a gun



W. C. PALMER DEVICE FOR TESTING THE RECUPERATIVE POWERYIN A GUN FiledMatch 22, 1922 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

I M'Zzzfaifz C PaZvzer 2 g Oct. 2 1923.

W. C. PALMER DEVICE FOR z-zs'rme THE RECUPERA'IIVE rowan IN A GUN FiledMarch 22, 1922 3 511008411001: 2

INVENTOR.

Patented Oct. 2; 1923.

WILLr M cramvrnn, or DAVENPORT, IOWA.

DEVICE ron'rns'rme rnn BEClIPERATIVE rowan In A GUN.

Application filed Martinez; 1922. SerialNo. 545,910,

man unnse'rnn Aer or'MAncn 3, 1 883, 22 smrJLI, s25. r V

' To all whom it may concern:

' die it known that 'LWVILLIAM C. PALME a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Davenport, county of Scott, and State of Iowa, haveinvented an Improvement in a 7 Device forf Testing the Recuperative fPower in a Gun, of which thefollovving is a specification.

The invention described herein may be ,usedfhy'the Government, or anyof'its offlcersjofr employees in prosecution of work for the Government,or by any'other person in invention is a device for testing. therecuperative power in a gun. ,When a gun is fabricated and assembled onThe, Subject of th 2 itscradle it, is desirable toknow'the force frately fsecured.

developed in the recuperator; the ability of the recuperator to 'restorethe gun to battery and the rapidity with which such restoration isaccomplished; 1

My invention is. designed to provide 'a' testingdevi'ce from which thedesired information may be conveniently and accu- Withithe foregoing,andj. other, ectsin view, my, invention resides in the novelarrangenient and combination of parts and in thedetails of constructionhereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changesinthe precise embodiment of theiinventlon herein disclosed may be made rwithin the scopeof what isclaimed wi thout departing from the'spirit ofthe invention. A practical embodiment of the invention is illustratedthe accompanying draw- .ings, r wherein v ig. 1 is a Sld elevation of atesting device constructed in accordance with-the in- '7 pl ne: p

, 1 ing mechanism.

7 -meansfor mounting and its cradle in. a manner similar to' thatemployed on its Fig. 2 is a projection ofsameupon a" rallel to the topsurface of the I n carrying outrny "inventionI provide carriage; means afor retracting the gun;

means for holding it in v anyretracted position; and means forreleasing'the gun to "permit it to return to battery under the actlon ofits recuperator.

the upper surface 11 of which may be incline'd as shown in Fig.1.Secured to the forward end of the frame and upon its up- ,per surface Iare spaced apart blocks 12 for the reception of the trunnions 13 of thegun a all; cradle 14 in which is slidably mounted the 7 the; UnitedStates, without paymentjto me of 3 7 any royalty thereon.

n 15. BracketslG may be provided beneaththe top surface and in positionto hold a supporting member 17 which engages the mechanism and serves tosupport the cradle in proper relation tofthe'top surface.

Any convenient mechanismmay-be used for the purpose of retracting thegun, that herein shownbeing byway of illustration.

1 provide at the rear of the framea'transverse shaft 18 which issupported in the sidemembers of the frame and upon which a pulley 19 isrotatable and adapted'to receive power from any-convenient source forthe purpose of driving the mechanism.

Mounted on the shaft '18, adjacent the pulley 19, is a hollow shaft orsleeve 20'to which is keyed a drum 21 andon the same sleeve or shaft islikewise mounted a pinion 22' meshing with a spur gear 23 affixed to ahollowshaft 24- which rotates on a spindle 25 suitably supportedin theframe. The hollow shaft 24=.has formed on one end thereofa pinion 26which meshes with a gear 27 formed o11 'one portion of a drum 28,which'dru'm is provided with the spaced apart annular grooves 29.

For the purpose of controlling the mechanism just described I mayprovide a shaft 30 which extends transversely of the frame and'which isadapted to be rocked through a ing end thereof. On the opposite end ofthe shaft 30 is formed a segment of abevel gear 82 Which meshes with a.bevel gear 33 secured on one end of a shaft 34', which shaft isjournalled on the side of the frame and extends at right angles to theshaft 30. The

shaft 34 is provided with cranks 35 engagingends of the connectingrodsBGthe other hand, lever 31 which is aflixed to anextendends of whichengage the trunnions 37 of a collar 38 secured in an annular grooveformed in the conical member 39 which member is slidable longitudinallyof the shaft 18. The conical member 39, When the shaft 34 is rockedthrough rocking the. shaft 30, is moved inwardly along the shaft 18 andthrusts under the end 40 of the crank arm 41 which is secured toja pin42 journaled in the pulley 19 and having, at its opposite end, a crosshead, 43- to which are secured the ends of a clutch band 44'which'isadap'ted to drawn about the drum 21 and bind the same tojthe pulley19 to cause the'parts to operate with the 'rotationof said pulley. ;When the I conical member 39 is retracted to its normal position the crankarm 41 is drawnto rock the pin 42 and loosen the 44 means of a resilientelea mer t, such as coiled spring 45 one end of which is attached to alug laterally fromthe arm 41and the other end of which may be attachedtoa lug carried on the pulley 19. In order that the members may be heldagainst movement man desired position, suitable braking mechanism 7 isprovided, that herein shown, consisting ofa crank arm is secured to theshaft 30 and is 'connected bylink 47 to a brake band 48 which alsoengages the drum 21. As will be readily seen from the drawing the brakeband 48 is brought into operation to braking the drum 21 when the shaft30 is rocked to a suflicient extent in a direction opposite to thatemployed for throwing theclutch into action. 7 V

The lever 31, through which the shaft is rocked, may be convenientlypro- 9.d..-Wi? e mentfi m' e f s= e y a pawl 5Q which'serves to hold thelever in any set position.

A The grooves 29 of the drum 28 are'joined bya curved groovefilin whichis positioned the 1 6 of t he 'cabl e 52 which may beheld therein,conveniently, 'by a .plate 53. The ends of the cable 52 'are turned backupon themselves to form eyes 54 to fit over the hooks 5;") formed on alink 56 which is'pivot ally connected. to'a block 57 slidable in achannel or guideway 58 which is secured to and extends for shortdistance longitudi- .nally. of the upper surface of the frame. The block57 is formed, at its forward end,

with an, upwardly extending lug -59*and,

@iineted to the block is,.a swinging jaw 60 having a hooked end 61.Pivotallyconnected to the swinging jawis acain lever 62 which may beheld locked inonepo'sition means 'offasliding lpin'63 mounted in anaperture jaw 60 a'iidie'n'gageable in an aperture 'fornieddn the'ca'mlever 62. "A link 64 is providedwith hooked "end 65 formed forengagement with the. hooked end of the "swlnging jaw 60fand theflug 59of the block, the othereiid of the link 64 being 'formed and swingingjaw.

to straddle the recoil lug of a gun and apertured to receive a couplingpin to connect the link to the gun. i V

In order'to insure a out off of the power retracting the gun, should theattendant neglect to throw the lever 31 at the proper time, an arm 66'is mounted on the shaft 30' in the path of the block 57 and is inposition to be struck by said block to lock the 'shaft3O and release theclutch member 39 thereby cutting off the power.

In'pra'ct'ice the gun and its cradle are mounted on the frame, asheretofore described, and the link 64 is connected to the recoil lug ofthe gun, thev hooked end thereof being held between the lug of the blockThelever '31 is then thrust, counter clockwise, as viewed inFifg. 1,rocking the shaft 39; and shaft 34 to thrust the cone 'niem'ber 39 alongthe shaft 18 and-swing the crank arm '41 to actuate W the clutch 44,which'will cause the hollow -shaft20 to rotate "with the drum 2 1 andpulley 19. Rotation of thchollow'shaft20 will cause, through pinion 22,spur 'gear 23,

pinion 26 and gear 27, ro'tationof the drum Rotation of the drum up thecable 52 drawing the block 57 and the gun rearwardly down the slideway'58 toany desired position. "When the gun has been retracted to thedesired extent the lever 3'1is "thrown clockwise thereby ieleasing the.

[clutch and bringinginto action the brake band 48, which will hold themembers against movement.'

To release the gun for the purpose of ascertaining the rapidity ofcounter recoil the pin 63 is drawn upwardly from engageiiient with thecam lever 62 and the lever swung outwardly thereby swinging thejaw 60from engagement with the fend 65'of the link 64 which releases the gu'nto movement under theaction of the recuperator;

.jaw, and cam lever are so constructed that the link 64 is releasedtherefrom without side thrust upon the linktending to move gear and drumagainst movement, means for selectively operating the 'clutchaiid brake,a cable carried by .the drum, a block"secured to the cable, a 'slidewayin the frame in which said blockieciproca'tes, a latch associated withthe block, a cam lever-foropening the latch'and a link engageable by"the latch and attachable to a gun. 1

- Itwfllbe'no'tedthattheb10ck,'swinging the I 2. testing device,including a support for a gun and its cradle, a drum connecte thesupport, means for rotating the d. in, means for holding the drumagainst rotation, a cable connected to the nected to the support, meansfor rotating the drum, I means for-- holding the drum against rotation,means for selectively operating the drum rotatin or drum holding means,a cable connecte to the drum and means carried b the cable forreleasably attaching the cab e to the gun.

4. A gun testing device, including a support for a gun and its cradle,means connected to the support for retracting the gun, means forstopping and holding the gun retracting means to hold the gun at anydesired position of retraction and means for releasing the gun from thegun retracting means.

5. A gun testing device, including a support for a gun and its cradle,gun retracting means carried by the support and means for releasing thegun from the gun retracting means While the gun is in retracted osition.

WILLIAM C. PAL ER.

